Method and system of splitting and merging information spaces

ABSTRACT

An approach is provided for managing split and merge operations for information spaces with respect to their information content.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices with various methods of connectivity are now for manypeople becoming the primary gateway to the internet and also a majorstorage point for personal information. This is in addition to thenormal range of personal computers and furthermore sensor devices plusinternet based providers. Combining these devices together and latelythe applications and the information stored by those applications is amajor challenge of interoperability. This is achieved through numerous,individual and personal spaces in which persons, groups of persons, etc.can place, share, interact and manipulate webs of information with theirown locally agreed semantics without necessarily conforming to anunobtainable, global whole. These information spaces, often referred toas smart spaces, are projections of the ‘Giant Global Graph’ in whichone can apply semantics and reasoning at a local level.

Each smart space entity can be considered as an aggregated informationset from different sources. This multi-sourcing consideration is veryflexible since it accounts that the same piece of information can comefrom different sources. Information is represented using Semantic Webstandards such as Resource Description Framework (RDF), RDF Schema(RDFS), OWL (Web Ontology Language), FOAF (Friend of a Friend ontology),rule sets in RuleML (Rule Markup Language), etc.

In an information space, information requested by a user may bedistributed over several information sets and therefore in order todeduce an accurate answer to a request there is the need for combining(merging) the information from different sources into a smart space.Furthermore, due to several reasons such as security issues, changingagreements and so on, it could be necessary for an information space tobe split into two or more smaller spaces. The process of splitting onespace may be volatile, meaning that merging the split spaces togetheragain may not produce the initial space, since some links betweeninformation could be lost. Conventionally, there is no strict order tojustify “split-merge” or “merge-split” procedures. The process involveshigh volatility in terms of which split spaces can be merged and whichsolid spaces (merged earlier) can be split without damaging the initialcontents.

SOME EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Therefore, there is a need for efficient logical mechanisms forsplitting and merging of information spaces taking into account semanticagreement processes and providing solutions for history management ofsmart spaces.

According to one embodiment, a method comprises retrieving aninformation space that is represented by a graph; and receiving arequest to split the information space into a first new informationspace and a second new information space, wherein the first newinformation space is represented by a first sub-graph and the second newinformation space is represented by a second sub-graph. The method alsocomprises determining one or more broken links of the graph; identifyingone or more nodes of the graph that are to be grounded; grounding thegraph based on the identified nodes; and creating a first set of rulesfor the first new information space and a second set of rules for thesecond new information space using rules for the information space.Further, the method comprises defining a first boundary for the firstnew information space and a second boundary for the second newinformation space along the broken links; and updating history of thefirst new information space and history of the second new informationspace based on the respective boundaries.

According to one embodiment, computer-readable storage medium carryingone or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executedby one or more processors, cause an apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: retrieving an information space that is represented by agraph; receiving a request to split the information space into a firstnew information space and a second new information space, wherein thefirst new information space is represented by a first sub-graph and thesecond new information space is represented by a second sub-graph;determining one or more broken links of the graph; identifying one ormore nodes of the graph that are to be grounded; grounding the graphbased on the identified nodes; creating a first set of rules for thefirst new information space and a second set of rules for the second newinformation space using rules for the information space; defining afirst boundary for the first new information space and a second boundaryfor the second new information space along the broken links; andupdating history of the first new information space and history of thesecond new information space based on the respective boundaries.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory including computer program code, theat least one memory and the computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: retrieve an information space that is represented by a graph;and receive a request to split the information space into a first newinformation space and a second new information space, wherein the firstnew information space is represented by a first sub-graph and the secondnew information space is represented by a second sub-graph. Theapparatus is further caused to determine one or more broken links of thegraph; identifying one or more nodes of the graph that are to begrounded; ground the graph based on the identified nodes; and create afirst set of rules for the first new information space and a second setof rules for the second new information space using rules for theinformation space. Also, the apparatus is further caused to define afirst boundary for the first new information space and a second boundaryfor the second new information space along the broken links; and updatehistory of the first new information space and history of the second newinformation space based on the respective boundaries.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises means forretrieving an information space that is represented by a graph; andmeans for receiving a request to split the information space into afirst new information space and a second new information space, whereinthe first new information space is represented by a first sub-graph andthe second new information space is represented by a second sub-graph.The apparatus also comprises determining one or more broken links of thegraph; means for identifying one or more nodes of the graph that are tobe grounded; means for grounding the graph based on the identifiednodes; and means for creating a first set of rules for the first newinformation space and a second set of rules for the second newinformation space using rules for the information space. Further, theapparatus comprises means for defining a first boundary for the firstnew information space and a second boundary for the second newinformation space along the broken links; and means for updating historyof the first new information space and history of the second newinformation space based on the respective boundaries.

According to another embodiment, a method comprises retrieving aplurality of information spaces that are represented, respectively, by aplurality of graphs; receiving a request to merge the information spacesinto a new information space; unifying the graphs and associatedhistories to create a new graph; unifying histories of the informationspaces for the new information space; removing portions of historiesthat each of the information spaces holds about other ones of theinformation spaces; retrieving rules corresponding to the informationspaces; and generating a resultant set of rules for the new informationspace based on resolving inconsistencies of the retrieved rules.

According to one embodiment, computer-readable storage medium carryingone or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executedby one or more processors, cause an apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: receiving a request to merge the information spaces into anew information space; unifying the graphs and associated histories tocreate a new graph; unifying histories of the information spaces for thenew information space; removing portions of histories that each of theinformation spaces holds about other ones of the information spaces;retrieving rules corresponding to the information spaces; and generatinga resultant set of rules for the new information space based onresolving inconsistencies of the retrieved rules.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory including computer program code, theat least one memory and the computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: retrieve a plurality of information spaces that arerepresented, respectively, by a plurality of graphs; receive a requestto merge the information spaces into a new information space; unify thegraphs and associated histories to create a new graph; unify historiesof the information spaces for the new information space; remove portionsof histories that each of the information spaces holds about other onesof the information spaces; retrieve rules corresponding to theinformation spaces; and generating a resultant set of rules for the newinformation space based on resolving inconsistencies of the retrievedrules.

According to yet another embodiment, an apparatus comprises means forretrieving a plurality of information spaces that are represented,respectively, by a plurality of graphs; means for receiving a request tomerge the information spaces into a new information space; means forunifying the graphs and associated histories to create a new graph;means for unifying histories of the information spaces for the newinformation space; means for removing portions of histories that each ofthe information spaces holds about other ones of the information spaces;means for retrieving rules corresponding to the information spaces; andmeans for generating a resultant set of rules for the new informationspace based on resolving inconsistencies of the retrieved rules.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention arereadily apparent from the following detailed description, simply byillustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations,including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. Theinvention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and itsseveral details can be modified in various obvious respects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, andnot by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A-1C are diagrams, respectively, of an information system capableof providing “split” and “merge” operations on information spaces, andflowcharts of the “split” and “merge” operations, according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an information space split operation, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing splitting of an information space, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing splitting of an information graph connectedwith an information space, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an information space merge operation, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing merging of two information spaces, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a diagram showing merging of two information graphs connectedwith two information spaces, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of hardware that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a chip set that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a terminal that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A method, apparatus, and software are provided for splitting and merginginformation spaces in an information system. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of theembodiments of the invention. It is apparent, however, to one skilled inthe art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 1A-1C are diagrams, respectively, of an information system capableof providing “split” and “merge” operations on information spaces, andflowcharts of the “split” and “merge” operations, according to variousembodiments. As shown in FIG. 1A system 100 comprises a set 101 of userdevices communicating through a communication network 103. Thecommunication network 103 may include one or more information sources109a-109m that could be physically apart in distant locations from eachother but accessible by user devices 101 through the communicationnetwork 103. Each user has one or more sets of information extractedfrom information resources 109a-109m by information manager 111 based onusers requirements (queries). Information manager 111 stores user'srequested information in user specific information spaces 113 andmanages and maintains those spaces.

According to one embodiment, a space is defined as a triple (G, H, ρ)where G is a graph of information nominally conforming to, for example,Resource Description Framework (RDF) semantics, the space history H, isa set of graphs of information also conforming to RDF semantics and ρ isa set of rules used to calculate the deductive closure of G underqueries.

Two basic operations “creation” and “deletion” are defined on a space.The creation operation receives a name n, initial graph of information G(which might be empty) and a set of rules ρ to produce the space:

createspace(n, G, ρ) (G, Ø, ρ)_(n)

A new space does not have a history and therefore the history set H isan empty set. The deletion operation receives a space n and removes allits information producing an empty set:

deletespace(n)→Ø

Other operations for “inserting” and “removal” of information in anexisting space are defined as follows:

insert(n, g)→(G_(n) ∪ g, H_(n), ρ_(n))_(n)

remove(n, g)→(G_(n)−g, H_(n), ρ_(n))_(n)

where g is a graph of information expressed using RDF semantics.

Querying an information space is made via a query q and the graphreturned as a result is the sub-graph of G under deductive closure thatconforms to q:

query(n, q)→Δ(G_(n),ρ_(n))|=q

where Δ is the deductive closure mechanism.

The given operations can be composed together to form more complexoperations such as “update”. The update of information in a space can beexpressed as the combination of remove and insert. However, if theintersection of inserted sub-graph and removed sub-graph is not empty,the order in which insert and remove are applied will affect theoperation result. For example, given a graph containing a single element{a}, the operation to insert a graph {b} and then immediately remove thegraph {b} as an atomic operation results in the graph {a} where if theordering of insertion and removal is reversed, the graph {a b} isobtained. Therefore, update operation as defined below, returns a validresult only if the intersection of inserted and deleted sub-graphs isempty:

$\left. {{update}\left( {n,\; g_{i},g_{r}} \right)}\rightarrow\left\{ \begin{matrix}{{{remove}\left( {n,\; g_{r}} \right)};{{{insert}\left( {n,\; g_{i}} \right)}\text{:}}} & {{g_{i}\bigcap g_{r}} = \varphi} \\{\bot:} & {{g_{i}\bigcap g_{r}} \neq \varphi}\end{matrix} \right. \right.$

Agents are independently executed, autonomous entities that interactwith spaces without explicit coordination. Once an agent is created, itmay perform any operation that it is authorized to perform on spaces. Anagent is uniquely identified by a name and contains a set of all thespaces to which it has joined. That is, an agent is a one-tuple (S)where S is the said set of spaces. Creation and deletion of agents issimilar to that of spaces:

createagent(a)→(Ø)_(a)

deleteagent(a)→Ø_(a)

where a is the name of the agent.

A definition of space is extended to contain a set of known and thusjoined agents: (G, H, ρ, A) where A is the set of agents.

An agent a may join and leave a space n. The join operation is definedas follows:

$\left. {{join}\left( {a,\; n} \right)}\rightarrow\left\{ \begin{matrix}{a \in {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \in {S_{a}\text{:}}} & {a \notin {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \notin S_{a}} \\{{fail}\text{:}} & {a \notin {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \in S_{a}} \\{{fail}\text{:}} & {a \in {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \notin S_{a}} \\{{pass}\text{:}} & {a \in {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \in S_{a}}\end{matrix} \right. \right.$The above definition implies that when an agent a joins a space n, spacen is added to the list of spaces that a has joined, and agent a is addedto the list of agents for space n. The “fail” results are related toexceptional conditions where agent's knowledge about its known spaces isdifferent from the space's knowledge of that particular agent and viceversa. The “pass” result relates to the condition where an agent istrying to join an already joined space.

The leave operation is defined as follows:

$\left. {{leave}\left( {a,\; n} \right)}\rightarrow\left\{ \begin{matrix}{{pass}\text{:}} & {a \notin {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \notin S_{a}} \\{{fail}\text{:}} & {a \notin {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \in S_{a}} \\{{fail}\text{:}} & {a \in {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \notin S_{a}} \\{a \in {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \in {S_{a}\text{:}}} & {a \in {A_{n}\bigwedge n} \in S_{a}}\end{matrix} \right. \right.$Leave operation is analogous to join. The leave process involvesremoving agent and space from each other's lists.

The notions of join and leave operations imply that the basic andcomposite operations on a space must take into consideration the agentperforming the task and whether it is known to the space.

The definition of a space is further extended to include a mechanism bywhich entities known as agents can subscribe to changing informationwithin spaces. This requires additions to the definitions of agent andspace to allow the recording of these subscriptions. The definition of aspace is now extended as (G, H, ρ, A, U) and an agent is now defined as(S, U) where in both cases U is the said set of active subscriptions.

In one embodiment, a subscription is a persistent query over the givenspace that when the space detects a change in the contents of the space,if the results of the query have changed since the last time the querywas run then the changed results are returned. These results couldpotentially be filtered to return just the changed part of theinformation in some implementations. An agent may request and terminatesubscriptions in the following manner

$\left. {{subscribe}\left( {a,\; n,{q\#}} \right)}\rightarrow\left\{ {\begin{matrix}{{q\#} \in {{U_{a}\bigwedge q}\#} \in {U_{n}\text{:}}} & {{q\#} \notin {{U_{a}\bigwedge q}\#} \notin U_{n}} \\{{fail}\text{:}} & {{q\#} \in {{U_{a}\bigvee q}\#} \in U_{n}}\end{matrix}{{{un}{subscribe}}\left( {a,\; n,{q\#}} \right)}}\rightarrow\left\{ \begin{matrix}{{q\#} \notin {{U_{a}\bigwedge q}\#} \notin {U_{n}\text{:}}} & {{q\#} \in {{U_{a}\bigwedge q}\#} \in U_{n}} \\{{fail}\text{:}} & {{q\#} \notin {{U_{a}\bigvee q}\#} \notin U_{n}}\end{matrix} \right. \right. \right.$

Information spaces are represented using Resource Description Framework(RDF). RDF is a family of World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) specificationsoriginally designed as a metadata data model. It has come to be used asa general method for conceptual description or modeling of informationthat is implemented in web resources; using a variety of syntax formats.The underlying structure of any expression in RDF is a collection oftriples, each consisting of three disjoint sets of nodes including asubject, a predicate and an object. A subject is an RDF URI reference(U) or a Blank Node (B), a predicate is an RDF URI reference (U), and anobject is an RDF URI reference (U), a literal (L) or a Blank Node (B). Aset of such triples is called an RDF graph.

TABLE 1 Subject Predicate Object uri:// . . . /rule#CD-introduction,rdf:type, uri:// . . . /Rule uri:// . . . /rule#CD-introduction, uri://. . . / “c” rule#assumption,

RDF graphs can be combined in a unified graph as well as decomposed intotheir constituent sub-graph. However, in order to avoid informationloss, the logical relations between graph nodes need to be preservedduring the process or the nodes need to be functionally grounded. Thepresence of Blank Nodes (BNodes) complicates RDF graph decompositionsince BNodes do not come with universally unique identifiers. A BNode isa node that is not a URI reference or a literal. In the RDF abstractsyntax, a BNode is just a unique node that can be used in one or moreRDF statements, but has no intrinsic name. BNodes from different RDFgraphs are assumed different by default; however there is no way torecognize whether two BNodes represent the same or different things.Some BNodes could be functionally grounded given a background ontologystating that some properties are instances of web ontology language OWLInverse Functional Property (IFP) or OWL Functional Property (FP). Thedefinition to build a three-fold categorical partition on RDF nodes canbe extended; this is more fully described in Ding et al. in “TrackingRDF Graph Provenance using RDF Molecules” (Technical report, 2005,Proceedings of the Fourth International Semantic Web Conference, 2005);which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. First, givenan RDF graph G, a node n in G is said naturally grounded (or grounded)if n is in either U or L. Second, given an RDF graph G with backgroundontology W, a node n in G is said functionally grounded on W if n is inB and either there exist a triple (n, p, o) in G, where p is IFPaccording to W, and o is either grounded or functionally grounded; orthere exist a triple (s, p, n) in G, where p is FP according to W, and sis grounded or functionally grounded. And finally third, given an RDFgraph G with background ontology W, a node n in G is said contextuallygrounded if n is in B and n is not functionally grounded.

As seen in FIG. 1A, user devices 101 can include one or more devices105a-105n, with each containing a set 107 of one or more agents thatcollect user's requested information from user's information spaces115a-115k. Each user information space 115a-115k stores information thatis deduced from information sources 109a-109m by information manager 111through local or global reasoning by deductive closure engine 11 7.

In one embodiment, split module 119 manages and conducts the process ofbreaking and reconfiguring user's current information spaces intosmaller spaces. This process could be done in different manners such asremoving all information and creating multiple individual smaller oreven empty spaces or making complete copies of current spaces. Mergemodule 121 manages and conducts the process of binding individualinformation spaces together to create a larger space. These individualbodies of information may be overlapping in terms of their content. Userdevices can interact simultaneously with many discrete spaces. In thiscase the total information available for a given space is the union ofthe deductive closure over all the individual bodies of information.

In one embodiment, metadata such as users' queries, agents'identification and agents' subscriptions are stored in database 123. Theinformation manager 111 uses this data.

According to one embodiment, a split operation is shown in FIG. 1B. Instep 131, the process retrieves an information space that is representedby a graph. For the purposes of explanation, the split operation isexplained with respect to partitioning the information into twosubspaces (i.e., two subgraphs). The process also receives, as in step133, a request to split the information space into a first newinformation space and a second new information space, wherein the firstnew information space is represented by a first sub-graph and the secondnew information space is represented by a second sub-graph. Next, instep 135, the process determines one or more broken links of the graph,and identifies one or more nodes of the graph that are to be grounded(step 137). In step 139, the graph is grounded based on the identifiednodes. In step 141, the process creates a first set of rules for thefirst new information space and a second set of rules for the second newinformation space using rules for the information space. Further, theprocess defines, per step 143, a first boundary for the first newinformation space and a second boundary for the second new informationspace along the broken links, Thereafter, the process updates history ofthe first new information space and history of the second newinformation space based on the respective boundaries (step 145).

As mentioned, the information space is subscribed by a multiple agents.In step 147, the process determines which of the agents are to besubscribers of the first new information space and/or the second newinformation space. Next, the subscription lists of the respective agentsare updated (step 149). In step 151, the process updating lists of thesubscribed agents for the respective new information spaces.

With respect to the merge operation, this process is described in FIG.1C. In step 161, the process retrieves multiple information spaces thatare represented, respectively, by a graphs. A request is received tomerge the information spaces into a new information space; (step 163).In step 165, the process unifies the graphs and associated histories tocreate a new graph. The process also unifies histories of the graphs forthe new information space, per step 167. In step 169, the processremoves those portions of histories that each of the graphs holds aboutother ones of the graphs. In step 171, the process retrieves rulescorresponding to the information spaces, and generates a resultant setof rules for the new information space based on resolvinginconsistencies of the retrieved rules (step 173). The process, per step175, unifies the agents for subscription to the new information space.In step 177, the process then updates subscription lists of therespective agents, and updates lists of the subscribed agents for thenew information space (step 179).

It is noted that the steps of these processes may be performed in anysuitable order, as well as combined or separated in any suitable manner.

The above approaches, in certain embodiments, advantageously provideefficient data processing, while minimizing use of system resources(e.g., bandwidth, and processing). That is, users can issue queries,which can be answered expeditiously because of the management of theinformation space. In this manner, the user need not expend moreresources and effort in locating desired information.

The described approach considers split and merge processes (which arefurther detailed with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B) as transitional taskswith main considerations being that of information boundaryidentification for such a transition. Such boundaries are determined bythe depth of the particular information space and rules (if any) appliedduring the transition period. During each of the processes the mostimportant task is to identify and to guarantee sustained boundaries ofthe process. Furthermore, every space is capable of storing memories ofits own history of transitions. At any point of time it is possible touse history information to extend query results driven from informationspaces. It is important to note that boundaries are able to trigger thehistory to disappear once two or more spaces are merged, and, to producepartially deduced information space along the boundaries over n leveldepth, where split occurs.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an information space split operation, inaccordance with one embodiment. Here, the process of split operation isdescribed with regards to FIGS. 3A and 3B and formula (1), below. FIG.3A is a diagram showing splitting of an information space, in accordancewith one embodiment; and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing splitting of aninformation graph connected with an information space, in accordancewith one embodiment.

The splitting of a space utilizes, in one embodiment, a number ofparameters that define how the space is to be split. FIGS. 2, 3A, 3B andformula (1) represent an exemplary procedure for split operation. Thefunctions described and their processes are exemplary ways of organizingsplitting procedure and the process could be organized in many differentmanners.

$\begin{matrix}\left. {{split}\left( {a,b,n,\phi_{a},\phi_{b},\delta_{a},\delta_{b},\beta_{a},\beta_{b},\alpha_{a},\alpha_{b}} \right)}\rightarrow{\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {{\phi_{a}\left( G_{n} \right)},{{\beta_{a}\left( G_{n} \right)}\bigcup H_{n}},{\delta_{a}\left( \rho_{n} \right)},{\alpha_{a}\left( A_{n} \right)},U_{a}} \right)_{a},} \\\left( {{\phi_{b}\left( G_{n} \right)},{{\beta_{b}\left( G_{n} \right)}\bigcup H_{n}},{\delta_{b}\left( \rho_{n} \right)},{\alpha_{b}\left( A_{n} \right)},U_{b}} \right)_{b}\end{Bmatrix}\bigwedge{\forall{\alpha \in {{\alpha_{a}\left( A_{n} \right)} \cdot {{S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {n\backslash a} \right\rbrack}\bigwedge{\forall{\alpha \in {{\alpha_{b}\left( A_{n} \right)} \cdot {{S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {n\backslash b} \right\rbrack}\bigwedge{\forall{u \in {{U_{a}\left( A_{n} \right)} \cdot {{S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {n\backslash a} \right\rbrack}\bigwedge{\forall{u \in {{U_{b}\left( A_{n} \right)} \cdot {S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {n\backslash b} \right\rbrack}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} \right. & (1)\end{matrix}$Operation split receives a space n and splits it into two spaces a and bbased on the conditions given by functions φ, δ, β and α.

In step 201, the process reads a split transitional operator. Function φin formula (1) is a query over space n which as per step 203 of FIG. 2selects a subset of graph G of n for each space a and b. That is, theinput space is to be split into subspaces. As the example of FIG. 3Ashows the space 300A is divided into spaces 301 and 303 by line 307 andgraph 300B of space 300A in FIG. 3B is divided into sub-graphs 313 and315 by line 311. The fact that where line 307 (311) needs to be drawnand how the space 300A (graph 300B) is to be divided is identified byfunction φ.

In step 205 of FIG. 2 function β checks whether any arcs of graph 300Ahave been broken by split process (i.e., whether grounds need to becreated). If there are broken arcs, in step 207 function β of formula(1) identifies the nodes that need to be grounded. This is used tocontrol which particular subsets become space a or space b. There is norestriction or relationship governing the splitting into two spaces andthe resultant spaces may overlap in terms of content.

In step 209 of FIG. 2 function δ of formula (1) checks whether anydeduction rules need to be updated; and in step 211 function δ selectsthe set of rules that need to be applied.

As per step 213 of FIG. 2 the process, per function β of formula (1),determines whether boundaries exist by checking whether split sub-graphs313 and 315 in FIG. 3B already have proper boundaries assigned to them;and if this is not the case, in step 215 boundaries are defined. Theboundaries are shown in FIG. 3A where line 305 is a boundary for space303 and line 309 is a boundary for space 301.

In one embodiment, the boundary of a graph 313 of FIG. 3B constitutesthose nodes and the related nodes in 315 via the arcs that have beensliced by the split. The minimal boundary is made by taking those nodesand sliced arcs in 315 (as well as those nodes in 313 which have arcsthat have been sliced). This minimal boundary is said to be of depth onewith respect to nodes in 313. The extent of the boundary is typicallyone level depth into any of information spaces. Deeper and thus moreexpansive boundaries can be created n levels (counting by arcs) deep. Inany case, one of the three grounding options natural, functional orcontextual should be inferred by means of forward chaining rule set andapplied. In the best case all three options are inferred. Higher numberof completed grounding options guarantees a more sustained informationspace with less information deterioration, meaning that the boundedinformation is robust enough to sustain the information of the smartspace. This can preserve the ability of smart space to sharpen theinformation it has, as well as the ability to simplify the traversing ofinformation when searching for a particular fragment. Referring back toFIG. 2 in step 217 boundary depths are checked; and in step 219 newinformation spaces a and b are deduced over newly defined boundaries.

In step 221 of FIG. 2 results from applying function β are added to thehistory of split spaces. In step 223, function δ divides the set ofrules on space n. This function processes the unification of the set ofdeductive closure rules. As rule sets, especially those which arenon-monotonic in nature, can have conflicts, it is necessary to have afunction which orders and potentially removes rules such that theresulting set of rules is ‘internally consistent’. This function caninduce asymmetry between the spaces in terms of which set of deductiveclosure rules are used.

As per step 225, function α selects which agents 107 remain as membersin each split space, rewrites the list of agents and updates set ofagent subscriptions U. Since original space n has been replaced by twonew split information spaces a and b, predicates of formula (1) describethat for any agent of space n, n needs to be replace by either a or b inthe list of spaces connected to that agent.

If more requests for splitting spaces have been received, step 227starts the process over from the beginning, otherwise the process ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an information space merge operation, inaccordance with one embodiment. Here, the process of merge operation isdescribed with respect to FIGS. 5A and 5B and formula (2). FIG. 5A is adiagram showing merging of two information spaces, in accordance withone embodiment and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing merging of twoinformation graphs connected with two information spaces, in accordancewith one embodiment. FIGS. 4, 5A, 5B and formula (2) represent anexemplary procedure for merge operation. The functions described andtheir processes are exemplary ways of organizing merging procedure andthe process could be organized in many different manners

$\begin{matrix}\left. {{merge}\left( {a,\; b,n,\gamma,\delta} \right)}\rightarrow{\begin{pmatrix}{{\gamma\left( {G_{a}\bigcup G_{b}\bigcup{H_{a}\lbrack b\rbrack}\bigcup{H_{b}\lbrack a\rbrack}} \right)},} \\{\left( {\left( {H_{a} - {H_{a}\lbrack b\rbrack}} \right)\bigcup\left( {H_{b} - {H_{b}\lbrack a\rbrack}} \right)} \right),} \\{{\delta\left( {\rho_{a},\rho_{b}} \right)},} \\{{A_{a}\bigcup A_{b}},} \\\left. {U_{a}\bigcup U_{b}} \right)\end{pmatrix}_{n}\bigwedge{\forall{\alpha \in {A_{a} \cdot {{S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {a{\backslash n}} \right\rbrack}\bigwedge{\forall{\alpha \in {A_{b} \cdot {{S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {b{\backslash n}} \right\rbrack}\bigwedge{\forall{u \in {U_{a} \cdot {{S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {a{\backslash n}} \right\rbrack}\bigwedge{\forall{u \in {U_{b} \cdot {S_{\alpha}\left\lbrack {b{\backslash n}} \right\rbrack}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} \right. & (2)\end{matrix}$Operation merge receives two spaces a and b and combines them into onespace n based on conditions provided by functions γ and δ.

Function γ in formula (2) is a unification function which calculatesrelationships between the structures in merged graph G_(n) of space n.Function δ processes the unification of the rule sets. Since the rulesets, especially those which are non-monotonic in nature can haveconflicts, it is necessary to have a function which orders andpotentially removes rules so that the resulting rule set is internallyconsistent. For example, if space a includes a rule as p→q and space bhas the rule p→

q, merging spaces a and b will result in a conflict between two rules.Function δ is a mechanism for recognizing rule conflicts and decidingwhich rule has priority over the other based on heuristics.

As the example of FIG. 5A shows, spaces 501 and 503 create space 500Aafter merge and their related graphs 509 and 511 in FIG. 5B join andcreate graph 500B. The space n generated by merging spaces a and b iscreated by simply joining the graphs, histories, rules, agents andsubscriptions of spaces a and b. Spaces 501 and 503 are being mergedtogether while areas 505 and 507 have previous history about each otherthat need to be combined. As seen in formula (2), and per step 403 ofFIG. 4, function γ combines graphs G_(a) (graph 509 of space 501) andG_(b) (graph 511 of space 503) with the history of space a about bH_(a)[b] (505) and history of space b about a H_(b)[a] (507). However,in order to create a history for the merged graph the part of history ofspace a about b and the part of history of space b about a do not needto be stored anymore. As seen in formula (2) these two parts arededucted from both histories before they are merged.

As per step 405 through 411 function δ checks whether grounding options,rules and boundaries need to be updated. If certain updates on groundingand boundaries are not needed, ground options and boundaries are mergedas per steps 415 and 417, otherwise in step 419 histories are updatedand in step 421 list of agents and their subscriptions to the new mergedspace is rewritten.

If more requests for merging spaces have been received, step 423 startsthe process over from the beginning, otherwise the process ends.

Based on the descriptions given for split and merge operations, it isnoticed that the two operations each could be applied on spaces withhistory or without history with slightly different processes. If two ormore information spaces have no history of being “together”, thiscondition should not prevent them from having any similar informationwithin the spaces. The merging will take all founded boundaries for thetransitional process and constructs the n level depth (partially)deduced information spaces over the boundaries. However, if two or moreinformation spaces have some history together, this case can be treatedas a combination of merging information spaces with and without history,meaning that the first case discussed above can be involved here whenany number of merging information spaces are “not knowing” each other.Besides, there is a process of common history unification and deductionover the merged information space, so that consistency of informationcan be guaranteed.

Similar discussion can be presented for Split operation. If oneinformation space has no previous history (the very first split), anyconnection broken by split needs to be grounded with its closest“relative” node. Therefore, a boundary of such split should beidentified and n level deep (partially) deduced information space shouldbe created. Furthermore, the history of being in the same informationspace with other half of the split could be preserved by means ofopposing partially deduced information spaces along the boundaries ofsplit. However, if one information space has some history, ungroundedelements should be treated in the same way as in split without history.But additional partially deduced information spaces should be created topreserve any new history elements and thus a set of history elements canbe collected (memories being built).

Considering the above discussion, it can be foreseen that once a smartspace is requested for some information that it might not have in itsown information spaces, the smart space can “look over” the history(memories) and infer that the requested information can be found in someother space(s).

The processes described herein for merging and splitting informationspaces may be advantageously implemented via software, hardware (e.g.,general processor, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip, an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Arrays(FPGAs), etc.), firmware or a combination thereof. Such exemplaryhardware for performing the described functions is detailed below.

FIG. 6 illustrates a computer system 600 upon which an embodiment of theinvention may be implemented. Computer system 600 includes acommunication mechanism such as a bus 610 for passing informationbetween other internal and external components of the computer system600. Information (also called data) is represented as a physicalexpression of a measurable phenomenon, typically electric voltages, butincluding, in other embodiments, such phenomena as magnetic,electromagnetic, pressure, chemical, biological, molecular, atomic,sub-atomic and quantum interactions. For example, north and southmagnetic fields, or a zero and non-zero electric voltage, represent twostates (0, 1) of a binary digit (bit). Other phenomena can representdigits of a higher base. A superposition of multiple simultaneousquantum states before measurement represents a quantum bit (qubit). Asequence of one or more digits constitutes digital data that is used torepresent a number or code for a character. In some embodiments,information called analog data is represented by a near continuum ofmeasurable values within a particular range.

A bus 610 includes one or more parallel conductors of information sothat information is transferred quickly among devices coupled to the bus610. One or more processors 602 for processing information are coupledwith the bus 610.

A processor 602 performs a set of operations on information. The set ofoperations include bringing information in from the bus 610 and placinginformation on the bus 610. The set of operations also typically includecomparing two or more units of information, shifting positions of unitsof information, and combining two or more units of information, such asby addition or multiplication or logical operations like OR, exclusiveOR (XOR), and AND. Each operation of the set of operations that can beperformed by the processor is represented to the processor byinformation called instructions, such as an operation code of one ormore digits. A sequence of operations to be executed by the processor602, such as a sequence of operation codes, constitute processorinstructions, also called computer system instructions or, simply,computer instructions. Processors may be implemented as mechanical,electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical or quantum components, amongothers, alone or in combination.

Computer system 600 also includes a memory 604 coupled to bus 610. Thememory 604, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, stores information including processor instructions.Dynamic memory allows information stored therein to be changed by thecomputer system 600. RAM allows a unit of information stored at alocation called a memory address to be stored and retrievedindependently of information at neighboring addresses. The memory 604 isalso used by the processor 602 to store temporary values duringexecution of processor instructions. The computer system 600 alsoincludes a read only memory (ROM) 606 or other static storage devicecoupled to the bus 610 for storing static information, includinginstructions, that is not changed by the computer system 600. Somememory is composed of volatile storage that loses the information storedthereon when power is lost. Also coupled to bus 610 is a non-volatile(persistent) storage device 608, such as a magnetic disk, optical diskor flash card, for storing information, including instructions, thatpersists even when the computer system 600 is turned off or otherwiseloses power.

Information, including instructions, is provided to the bus 610 for useby the processor from an external input device 612, such as a keyboardcontaining alphanumeric keys operated by a human user, or a sensor. Asensor detects conditions in its vicinity and transforms thosedetections into physical expression compatible with the measurablephenomenon used to represent information in computer system 600. Otherexternal devices coupled to bus 610, used primarily for interacting withhumans, include a display device 614, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT)or a liquid crystal display (LCD), or plasma screen or printer forpresenting text or images, and a pointing device 616, such as a mouse ora trackball or cursor direction keys, or motion sensor, for controllinga position of a small cursor image presented on the display 614 andissuing commands associated with graphical elements presented on thedisplay 614. In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments in whichthe computer system 600 performs all functions automatically withouthuman input, one or more of external input device 612, display device614 and pointing device 616 is omitted.

In the illustrated embodiment, special purpose hardware, such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 620, is coupled to bus610. The special purpose hardware is configured to perform operationsnot performed by processor 602 quickly enough for special purposes.Examples of application specific ICs include graphics accelerator cardsfor generating images for display 614, cryptographic boards forencrypting and decrypting messages sent over a network, speechrecognition, and interfaces to special external devices, such as roboticarms and medical scanning equipment that repeatedly perform some complexsequence of operations that are more efficiently implemented inhardware.

Computer system 600 also includes one or more instances of acommunications interface 670 coupled to bus 610. Communication interface670 provides a one-way or two-way communication coupling to a variety ofexternal devices that operate with their own processors, such asprinters, scanners and external disks. In general the coupling is with anetwork link 678 that is connected to a local network 680 to which avariety of external devices with their own processors are connected. Forexample, communication interface 670 may be a parallel port or a serialport or a universal serial bus (USB) port on a personal computer. Insome embodiments, communications interface 670 is an integrated servicesdigital network (ISDN) card or a digital subscriber line (DSL) card or atelephone modem that provides an information communication connection toa corresponding type of telephone line. In some embodiments, acommunication interface 670 is a cable modem that converts signals onbus 610 into signals for a communication connection over a coaxial cableor into optical signals for a communication connection over a fiberoptic cable. As another example, communications interface 670 may be alocal area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connectionto a compatible LAN, such as Ethernet. Wireless links may also beimplemented. For wireless links, the communications interface 670 sendsor receives or both sends and receives electrical, acoustic orelectromagnetic signals, including infrared and optical signals, thatcarry information streams, such as digital data. For example, inwireless handheld devices, such as mobile telephones like cell phones,the communications interface 670 includes a radio band electromagnetictransmitter and receiver called a radio transceiver.

The term computer-readable medium is used herein to refer to any mediumthat participates in providing information to processor 602, includinginstructions for execution. Such a medium may take many forms,including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media andtransmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical ormagnetic disks, such as storage device 608. Volatile media include, forexample, dynamic memory 604. Transmission media include, for example,coaxial cables, copper wire, fiber optic cables, and carrier waves thattravel through space without wires or cables, such as acoustic waves andelectromagnetic waves, including radio, optical and infrared waves.Signals include man-made transient variations in amplitude, frequency,phase, polarization or other physical properties transmitted through thetransmission media.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, or any othermagnetic medium, a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), a digital video disk (DVD)or any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, or any otherphysical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a programmable ROM(PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), a FLASH-EPROM, or any other memorychip or cartridge, a transmission medium such as a cable or carrierwave, or any other medium from which a computer can read. Informationread by a computer from computer-readable media are variations inphysical expression of a measurable phenomenon on the computer readablemedium. Computer-readable storage medium is a subset ofcomputer-readable medium which excludes transmission media that carrytransient man-made signals.

Logic encoded in one or more tangible media includes one or both ofprocessor instructions on a computer-readable storage media and specialpurpose hardware, such as ASIC 620.

Network link 678 typically provides information communication usingtransmission media through one or more networks to other devices thatuse or process the information. For example, network link 678 mayprovide a connection through local network 680 to a host computer 682 orto equipment 684 operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPequipment 684 in turn provides data communication services through thepublic, world-wide packet-switching communication network of networksnow commonly referred to as the Internet 690. A computer called a serverhost 692 connected to the Internet hosts a process that provides aservice in response to information received over the Internet. Forexample, server host 692 hosts a process that provides informationrepresenting video data for presentation at display 614.

At least some embodiments of the invention are related to the use ofcomputer system 600 for implementing some or all of the techniquesdescribed herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, thosetechniques are performed by computer system 600 in response to processor602 executing one or more sequences of one or more processorinstructions contained in memory 604. Such instructions, also calledcomputer instructions, software and program code, may be read intomemory 604 from another computer-readable medium such as storage device608 or network link 678. Execution of the sequences of instructionscontained in memory 604 causes processor 602 to perform one or more ofthe method steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hardware,such as ASIC 620, may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the inventionare not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software,unless otherwise explicitly stated herein.

The signals transmitted over network link 678 and other networks throughcommunications interface 670, carry information to and from computersystem 600. Computer system 600 can send and receive information,including program code, through the networks 680, 690 among others,through network link 678 and communications interface 670. In an exampleusing the Internet 690, a server host 692 transmits program code for aparticular application, requested by a message sent from computer 600,through Internet 690, ISP equipment 684, local network 680 andcommunications interface 670. The received code may be executed byprocessor 602 as it is received, or may be stored in memory 604 or instorage device 608 or other non-volatile storage for later execution, orboth. In this manner, computer system 600 may obtain application programcode in the form of signals on a carrier wave.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequence of instructions or data or both to processor 602 forexecution. For example, instructions and data may initially be carriedon a magnetic disk of a remote computer such as host 682. The remotecomputer loads the instructions and data into its dynamic memory andsends the instructions and data over a telephone line using a modem. Amodem local to the computer system 600 receives the instructions anddata on a telephone line and uses an infra-red transmitter to convertthe instructions and data to a signal on an infra-red carrier waveserving as the network link 678. An infrared detector serving ascommunications interface 670 receives the instructions and data carriedin the infrared signal and places information representing theinstructions and data onto bus 610. Bus 610 carries the information tomemory 604 from which processor 602 retrieves and executes theinstructions using some of the data sent with the instructions. Theinstructions and data received in memory 604 may optionally be stored onstorage device 608, either before or after execution by the processor602.

FIG. 7 illustrates a chip set 700 upon which an embodiment of theinvention may be implemented. Chip set 700 is programmed to carry outthe inventive functions described herein and includes, for instance, theprocessor and memory components described with respect to FIG. 7incorporated in one or more physical packages. By way of example, aphysical package includes an arrangement of one or more materials,components, and/or wires on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard) toprovide one or more characteristics such as physical strength,conservation of size, and/or limitation of electrical interaction.

In one embodiment, the chip set 700 includes a communication mechanismsuch as a bus 701 for passing information among the components of thechip set 700. A processor 703 has connectivity to the bus 701 to executeinstructions and process information stored in, for example, a memory705. The processor 703 may include one or more processing cores witheach core configured to perform independently. A multi-core processorenables multiprocessing within a single physical package. Examples of amulti-core processor include two, four, eight, or greater numbers ofprocessing cores. Alternatively or in addition, the processor 703 mayinclude one or more microprocessors configured in tandem via the bus 701to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, andmultithreading. The processor 703 may also be accompanied with one ormore specialized components to perform certain processing functions andtasks such as one or more digital signal processors (DSP) 707, or one ormore application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) 709. A DSP 707typically is configured to process real-word signals (e.g., sound) inreal time independently of the processor 703. Similarly, an ASIC 709 canbe configured to performed specialized functions not easily performed bya general purposed processor. Other specialized components to aid inperforming the inventive functions described herein include one or morefield programmable gate arrays (FPGA) (not shown), one or morecontrollers (not shown), or one or more other special-purpose computerchips.

The processor 703 and accompanying components have connectivity to thememory 705 via the bus 701. The memory 705 includes both dynamic memory(e.g., RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) and staticmemory (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executable instructionsthat when executed perform the inventive steps described herein. Thememory 705 also stores the data associated with or generated by theexecution of the inventive steps.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of example components of a mobile station (e.g.,handset) capable of operating in the system of FIG. 1A, according to oneembodiment. Generally, a radio receiver is often defined in terms offront-end and back-end characteristics. The front-end of the receiverencompasses all of the Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry whereas theback-end encompasses all of the base-band processing circuitry.Pertinent internal components of the station include a Main Control Unit(MCU) 803, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 805, and areceiver/transmitter unit including a microphone gain control unit and aspeaker gain control unit. A main display unit 807 provides a display tothe user in support of various applications and mobile stationfunctions. An audio function circuitry 809 includes a microphone 811 andmicrophone amplifier that amplifies the speech signal output from themicrophone 811. The amplified speech signal output from the microphone811 is fed to a coder/decoder (CODEC) 813.

A radio section 815 amplifies power and converts frequency in order tocommunicate with a base station, which is included in a mobilecommunication system, via antenna 817. The power amplifier (PA) 819 andthe transmitter/modulation circuitry are operationally responsive to theMCU 803, with an output from the PA 819 coupled to the duplexer 821 orcirculator or antenna switch, as known in the art. The PA 819 alsocouples to a battery interface and power control unit 820.

In use, a user of mobile station 801 speaks into the microphone 811 andhis or her voice along with any detected background noise is convertedinto an analog voltage. The analog voltage is then converted into adigital signal through the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) 823. Thecontrol unit 803 routes the digital signal into the DSP 805 forprocessing therein, such as speech encoding, channel encoding,encrypting, and interleaving. In the example embodiment, the processedvoice signals are encoded, by units not separately shown, using acellular transmission protocol such as global evolution (EDGE), generalpacket radio service (GPRS), global system for mobile communications(GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS), universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), etc., as well as any other suitablewireless medium, e.g., microwave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution(LTE) networks, code division multiple access (CDMA), wireless fidelity(WiFi), satellite, and the like.

The encoded signals are then routed to an equalizer 825 for compensationof any frequency-dependent impairments that occur during transmissionthough the air such as phase and amplitude distortion. After equalizingthe bit stream, the modulator 827 combines the signal with a RF signalgenerated in the RF interface 829. The modulator 827 generates a sinewave by way of frequency or phase modulation. In order to prepare thesignal for transmission, an up-converter 831 combines the sine waveoutput from the modulator 827 with another sine wave generated by asynthesizer 833 to achieve the desired frequency of transmission. Thesignal is then sent through a PA 819 to increase the signal to anappropriate power level. In practical systems, the PA 819 acts as avariable gain amplifier whose gain is controlled by the DSP 805 frominformation received from a network base station. The signal is thenfiltered within the duplexer 821 and optionally sent to an antennacoupler 835 to match impedances to provide maximum power transfer.Finally, the signal is transmitted via antenna 817 to a local basestation. An automatic gain control (AGC) can be supplied to control thegain of the final stages of the receiver. The signals may be forwardedfrom there to a remote telephone which may be another cellulartelephone, other mobile phone or a land-line connected to a PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other telephony networks.

Voice signals transmitted to the mobile station 801 are received viaantenna 817 and immediately amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA)837. A down-converter 839 lowers the carrier frequency while thedemodulator 841 strips away the RF leaving only a digital bit stream.The signal then goes through the equalizer 825 and is processed by theDSP 805. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) 843 converts the signal andthe resulting output is transmitted to the user through the speaker 845,all under control of a Main Control Unit (MCU) 803—which can beimplemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) (not shown).

The MCU 803 receives various signals including input signals from thekeyboard 847. The MCU 803 delivers a display command and a switchcommand to the display 807 and to the speech output switchingcontroller, respectively. Further, the MCU 803 exchanges informationwith the DSP 805 and can access an optionally incorporated SIM card 849and a memory 851. In addition, the MCU 803 executes various controlfunctions required of the station. The DSP 805 may, depending upon theimplementation, perform any of a variety of conventional digitalprocessing functions on the voice signals. Additionally, DSP 805determines the background noise level of the local environment from thesignals detected by microphone 811 and sets the gain of microphone 811to a level selected to compensate for the natural tendency of the userof the mobile station 801.

The CODEC 813 includes the ADC 823 and DAC 843. The memory 851 storesvarious data including call incoming tone data and is capable of storingother data including music data received via, e.g., the global Internet.The software module could reside in RAM memory, flash memory, registers,or any other form of writable storage medium known in the art. Thememory device 851 may be, but not limited to, a single memory, CD, DVD,ROM, RAM, EEPROM, optical storage, or any other non-volatile storagemedium capable of storing digital data.

An optionally incorporated SIM card 849 carries, for instance, importantinformation, such as the cellular phone number, the carrier supplyingservice, subscription details, and security information. The SIM card849 serves primarily to identify the mobile station 801 on a radionetwork. The card 849 also contains a memory for storing a personaltelephone number registry, text messages, and user specific mobilestation settings.

While the invention has been described in connection with a number ofembodiments and implementations, the invention is not so limited butcovers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements, whichfall within the purview of the appended claims. Although features of theinvention are expressed in certain combinations among the claims, it iscontemplated that these features can be arranged in any combination andorder.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for merging a plurality of informationspaces in an information system, comprising: retrieving the one or moreinformation spaces that are represented, respectively, by a plurality ofgraphs, the information spaces having a plurality of subscribed agentsone or more graphs, wherein the one or more graphs are a model ofinformation implemented in web resources; receiving a at least onerequest to merge the information spaces into a new information spacegenerate one or more new information spaces represented by one or morenew graphs based, at least in part, on the one or more informationspaces; determining to unify histories of the information spaces for thenew information space, the histories relating to interactions,transitions, or a combination thereof of the information spaces with oneanother; when an information space of the information spaces isdetermined to have a portion of history about other information spacesof the information spaces, removing the history portion that theinformation space has about the other information spaces; determiningone or more broken links of the one or more graphs; identifying one ormore nodes of the one or more graphs that are to be grounded; groundingthe one or more graphs based, at least in part, on the one or morenodes; removing one or more portions from at least one historyassociated with the one or more graphs that are also included in atleast one other history associated with the one or more graphs;retrieving one or more rules corresponding to the one or moreinformation spaces; and generating a resultant set of rules one or morenew rules for the one or more new information space spaces based, atleast in part, on resolving inconsistencies of the retrieved one or morerules; and determining to update subscription information for therespective agents and the new information space.
 2. A method of claim 1,wherein the at least one request comprises at least one merge request tomerge the one or more information spaces, the method further comprising:unifying the agents for subscription to the new information space one ormore graphs and one or more histories associated with the one or moregraphs to create a new graph.
 3. A method of claim 1 2, wherein the oneor more information spaces are subscribed by a plurality of agents,further comprising: updating subscription lists of the respectiveagentsunifying the plurality of agents for subscription to the one ormore new information spaces.
 4. A method of claim 1 3, furthercomprising: updating one or more subscription lists of the subscribedplurality of agents for the new information space.
 5. A method of claim1 3, further comprising: determining priority of the rules, based onheuristics, for the generation of the resultant set of rulesupdating oneor more lists of the subscribed agents for the one or more newinformation spaces.
 6. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor;and at least one memory including computer program code for one or moreprograms, the at least one memory and the computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus toperform at least the following,; retrieve a plurality of one or moreinformation spaces of an information system that are represented,respectively, by a plurality of one or more graphs for the newinformation space, the information spaces having a plurality ofsubscribed agents, wherein the one or more graphs are a model ofinformation implemented in web resources; receive a at least one requestto merge the information spaces into a new information space generateone or more new information spaces represented by one or more new graphsbased, at least in part, on the one or more information spaces,;determine to unify histories of the information spaces for the newinformation space, the histories relating to interactions, transitions,or a combination thereof of the information spaces with one another,when an information space of the information spaces is determined tohave a portion of history about other information spaces of theinformation spaces, remove the history portion that the informationspace has about the other information spaces, determine one or morebroken links of the one or more graphs; identifying one or more nodes ofthe one or more graphs that are to be grounded; ground the one or moregraphs based, at least in part, on the one or more nodes; remove one ormore portions from at least one history associated with the one or moregraphs that are also included in at least one other history associatedwith the one or more graphs,; retrieve one or more rules correspondingto the one or more information spaces, and generate a resultant set ofone or more new rules for the one or more new information space spacesbased, at least in part, on resolving inconsistencies of the retrievedone or more rules, and determine to update subscription information forthe respective agents and the new information space.
 7. An apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the at least one request comprises at least one mergerequest to merge the one or more information spaces, the apparatus isfurther caused, at least in part, to: unify the agents for subscriptionto the new information space the one or more graphs and one or morehistories associated with the one or more graphs to create a new graph.8. An apparatus of claim 6 7, wherein the one or more information spacesare subscribed by a plurality of agents, the apparatus is furthercaused, at least in part, to: update subscription lists of therespective agentsunify the plurality of agents for subscription to theone or more new information spaces.
 9. An apparatus of claim 6 8,wherein the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to: updateone or more subscription lists of the subscribed plurality of agents forthe new information space.
 10. An apparatus of claim 6 8, wherein theapparatus is further caused, at least in part, to: determine priority ofthe rules, based on heuristics, for the generation of the resultant setof rulesupdate one or more lists of the subscribed agents for the one ormore new information spaces.
 11. A method of claim 1, wherein theportions of histories that each of the information spaces holds aboutthe other ones of the information spaces are removed from the respectivehistories before the histories are unified An apparatus of claim 6,wherein the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to: determinepriority of the one or more rules, based on heuristics, for thegeneration of the one or more new rules.
 12. A method of claim 1,further comprising: determining priority of the one or more rules, basedon heuristics, for the generation of the one or more new rules.
 13. Amethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one request comprises at leastone split request to split the one or more information spaces, furthercomprising: defining at least a first boundary for at least a first newinformation space and at least a second boundary for at least a secondnew information space; and updating one or more histories of the firstnew information space and the second new information space based, atleast in part, on at least the first boundary and the second boundary.14. A method of claim 13, wherein the one or more new information spacesare subscribed by a plurality of agents, the method further comprising:determining which of the plurality of agents are to be subscribed towhich of the one or more new information spaces.
 15. A method of claim14, further comprising: updating one or more subscription lists of theplurality of agents.
 16. A method of claim 14, further comprising:updating one or more lists of the plurality of agents for the one ormore new information spaces.
 17. A method of claim 14, furthercomprising: receiving at least one query from at least one agentsubscribed to at least a first new information space; and generating atleast one response specifying at least one answer found in the first newinformation space or indicating that the at least one answer may existin at least a second new information space.
 18. An apparatus of claim 6,wherein the at least one request comprises at least one split request tosplit the one or more information spaces, the apparatus is furthercaused, at least in part, to: define at least a first boundary for atleast a first new information space and at least a second boundary forat least a second new information space; and update one or morehistories of the first new information space and the second newinformation space based, at least in part, on at least the firstboundary and the second boundary.
 19. An apparatus of claim 18, whereinthe one or more new information spaces are subscribed by a plurality ofagents, the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to: determinewhich of the plurality of agents are to be subscribed to which of theone or more new information spaces.
 20. An apparatus of claim 19, theapparatus is further caused, at least in part, to: update one or moresubscription lists of the plurality of agents.
 21. An apparatus of claim19, the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to: update one ormore lists of the plurality of agents for the one or more newinformation spaces.
 22. An apparatus of claim 19, the apparatus isfurther caused, at least in part, to: receive at least one query from atleast one agent subscribed to at least a first new information space;and generate at least one response specifying at least one answer foundin the first new information space or indicating that the at least oneanswer may exist in at least a second new information space.